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"Remove all guards from the nearby area. Guard the surroundings for possible spies, I'll be discussing classified state secrets with the criminal"

Adelio looks down at her head guard as he bows and scurries away, two other guards following him out of the dark dungeon hallway. The city dungeon of Birds is just as horrifying as one might think it could be, considering the state of the rest of the city. They let civilized people live in terrible conditions, and uncivilized ones in what can only be described as: the remnants of hell. The floor is filled with mud, a possible mixture of the groundwater with the dust from above. The only source of light during the day is the exit, a narrow sandstone staircase that leads to a closed wooden door. The dungeon itself exists completely underground, the cells small and placed right next to each other, holding several criminals in one. It is cold and the stinging smell of dirt and mud rises in the air, Adelio powering through it without holding his nose to show strength in front of her guards and the criminals, who watch her from their metal cells with nothing but hollow hunger in their eyes.

This dungeon is a fate worse than death, perhaps even a fate close to the one that awaits those who die without their sins forgiven. It is the last place that will ever be reformed, as nobody cares more about criminals than they do about anything else.

However, Adelio sees this terrible hellhole as an opportunity to pressure her current number one enemy, and bend her to her will. This old woman, whoever she might be, no matter how crazy, attention-seeking or dumb, is the current number one enemy of the crown prince and therefore the current number one enemy of the future state and crown. She is the first person who has ever dared to voice the words Adelio fears more than anything.

"I'm a woman?"

She opens the door with a cold voice, cutting through the thick air of the nearly empty dungeon cell. While all other cells are filled with criminals, this one holds only one woman. She is a danger to society. It's not selfish for Adelio to think that. If it got out that she is a woman, through the rumours originally spread by this woman, there is no telling what the other kingdoms would do if they saw fault in that. They could join an uprising against Red Lion, lead by Blue Knight, take over the kingdom and slaughter the people while they're at it. Red Lion is powerful but nobody is strong enough to stand on their own against the entire world. Not even Adelio. Therefore, this woman is an enemy of the state, and the most dangerous woman in their entire empire. Also, a personal enemy of Adelio.

"Care to explain?"

The woman sits on the floor, leaning against the wall with her eyes closed. Her only sign of life is the chest that slowly moves up and down with her ragged breaths. Adelio feels no pity for her. She feels pity for all of her people as a whole, but can easily acknowledge that there are many bad apples out there. And sometimes, bad apples don't have to be evil to be bad for her. All they have to be is dangerous, even if they are kind within. She is crown prince, and her duty is to protect her people from harm, no matter if that harm is good or bad. So she feels no pity for her, simply because her pitiful situation is an asset to Adelio. A night in this dungeon will surely have cracked her defences wide open.

"I've lived for eighty seven years-"

Adelio listens intently as she croaks out her words, wheezing them through her teeth, coughing halfway through. She stands above her with her arms folded over her chest, piercing eyes staring directly down at the old woman. They call it a miracle when a poor person in a city like this one reaches above the age of seventy. This woman is a walking miracle, and yet she has no better use of her remaining time than to aggravate and get involved with Adelio's immense problem. That's what is truly pitiful.

"When you've lived this long you can see the very core in people. You can't hide forever, young prince"

Adelio wants to laugh. She has lived for so long and yet she has no idea of the extent the human mind and body will go. She has no idea how far a human can be pushed. From birth she has been taught how to pretend to be a man, to the point where she doesn't need to pretend anymore. At one point one must ask themselves the question, what defines a man and a woman? For she is a woman only in her mind and in her memories, in the memories of her mother, and in all other ways she has always been and will always be a man on the outside. This world has no space for a female ruler, she can only survive and keep the kingdom on her back if she continues to feed into the lie created by her genius mother. She will continue to be a puppet of a lie and this kingdom because the human mind allows it. Because it is within reach, it is very much possible. Age doesn't matter. Experience does. Adelio realises that she was truly worried for nothing.

This woman might have found out the truth about her, but she isn't right. The wisdom that she preaches is only the wisdom of her mind, brainwashed by years of societal pressure from different sides. Adelio came to see her for nothing. The crown prince looks down at the woman in the cell. Her head hangs low, her breathing is short, her body is withering away. She imprisoned her for nothing.

Adelio leaves the dungeon and greets her head guard, expression much calmer.

"Set her free. She wont survive another night"

"Could you at least explain to me why this is necessary?"

Maud doesn't dare to raise her voice above a whisper. Her feet tap against the floor as she rushes after Adelio, walking down the corridor of their inn. It's dark and surprisingly cold outside, as the starry sky brings about the cold air of the night, laying itself like a blanket over the dusty city below. The coldness is not the only thing sending a chill down the princesses spine this dark evening. It is the pure terror spreading through her body, that has been caused by the careless actions and words of her husband.

"You don't need to know why this is important, all you need to do is trust me and do as I say"

Maud frowns. She hates that. Why does she hate that? Because it's so ridiculous. Her blood runs cold at the thought of it. Lying about her eductaion and past is one thing, but lying about something this serious is surely a crime under the eyes of god. How could they, as pitiful as they are, suddenly pretend like this? When they have no reason to? If only Adelio could explain his very sudden decision, she would surely make an attempt to understand his point of view and try to forgive the sin they are committing. But his silence is as cold as the night above, Maud can't help that it hardens her heart too.

"This is a human person we are talking about Adelio! We can't just lie about something like this. Especially when we have no need to!"

Maud is beginning to think that Adelio is simply crazy. Saying that he is hiding something to forgive the fact that he is acting irrationally isn't going to work for the princess anymore. Adelio is acting insane and it's affecting more people now. This is a human life they are talking about! How could he scheme around innocent human life as if it were a trivial matter? Maud doesn't understand it. The poor baby that she held in her hands, his eyes that were tightly shut and his face that was so innocent and calm as he slept. How could he look at that child and come up with such a ridiculous idea? Is he truly the monster people claim him to be?

Adelio turns around and stops walking quite suddenly, Maud almost bumping into him as a result. She frowns and raises her head to meet his gaze, eyes begging for an explanation to soothe her frustration and anger over the matter. Just as she thinks her life couldn't possibly get more complicated than it already is, Adelio comes back and throws everything around again. Adelio frowns. Frustration is clear on his face and it continues to grow as Maud doesn't give in.

"We do need to and it's better if you don't know why, so stop asking"

Adelio tries to stare her down with his usual piercing gaze. He should've known that Maud is no longer phased by such antics. Her eyes hold just as much fire as they did before, but this time with a hint of hurting. How could he say things like this without explaining. Doesn't he know that it could hurt her feelings?

"You don't think I'm capable of baring a son of my own?"

He should've known, in a society where women are brought up with very narrow ideas of their own life purpose, that his words would hurt her.

Adelio sighs and looks away from his wife, dragging a stressed hand through his black hair. Maud continues to stare at him with a will to know, tears of frustration threatening to spill past her waterline. Maud feels almost selfish for asking him. Should her heart not be golden enough for her to take the poor boy instead of making a child of her own? Maud isn't sure. She doesn't want to lie, doesn't want to take a child's life and force him to the crown, knowing that it can turn terrible and bloody. She is scared to lie in front of the entire kingdom and royal family, and she is scared that the child will be found faulty in his later years and be exposed for it, the kingdom crumbling with him. She is scared to take him as her own, and yet her heart is burdened, for the fear of leaving that child to a fate that was similar to her past one, hurts and weighs as well. Torn between two evils, the silence of her husband only frustrates her further. If only he could at least explain why he wants to do this, she would not need to be so torn if he gave her more reasons to be all for it.

All she understand this far is, Adelio wants to take the child Alaric and pretend that it was indeed Maud who birthed him, pretend that it is their child. In fact, the baby already sleeps in a room next to theirs, taken care of by one of the nuns. It seems like the crown prince has already made his mind up about the matter, and Maud is thankful that he at least had the decency to tell her about it. Instead of having a child of their own, an heir to the throne, Adelio wants to take this newborn and pretend that he is a prince. The boy's fate is to become king, Maud has already heard of it. He will be king now, if they go through with it, but Maud just doesn't understand why. Why lie and go through all kinds of dangerous troubles when they could just try to have a child of their own instead? Why won't he explain it when it sounds so ridiculous?

"It's not about that. You should see this as an opportunity. If you have a son your position as queen will be stable as long as he is alive, and your status will be elevated. You'll never have to go through the dangers of pregnancy. Just trust me with this, please?"

Maud doesn't know if she can, but looking into his eyes, she realizes that there is no way she'll be able to change his mind anymore. His head is set on this and even though she doesn't know why, Adelio is serious about it. Serious enough to have hired one of the nuns to take care of the child and come with them to the capital. Serious enough to actually pretend that a child is theirs, when it actually isn't. So since she can't change his mind, Maud decides to do what she is best at in this situation. Make her reality work. Even when it stirs fear in her stomach.

"People won't believe us, I'm not pregnant now nor was I then, how could we claim that I birthed an heir during this tour?"

Adelio's lips twitch up a bit at the question, happy that they are finally talking about something else other than Maud's constant questions of why. He smiles like a man who has just figured out the laws of nature, proud and feeling genius.

"That's just it, the child is newborn, and because of his malnourishment he is smaller than other babies his age. Pregnancy is never noticeable during the first months, especially not for a princess who has been so hidden away. We will keep him and you hidden until the very end of the tour, and claim that he was born. The timing will be perfect. We'll return to the palace with an heir and nobody will find out the truth"

Maud rarely ever hears him speak so much at one time. Adelio is a silent type of person, but he seems oddly comfortable and familiar talking about strange matters such as this one. The princess has to admit that he has made his case clear and presented it well, pregnancy is rarely noticeable unless you make it that way, it is only in the end that the stomach grows. She is already so hidden away, the only people who have seen her are her maids and her sisters-in-law. Wearing big dresses and veils and hiding away in carriages and buildings, Maud is sure that hiding during this tour won't be a problem either. It's just odd for her to lie, and it's scary to get yet another burden on her shoulders. Yet another lie that she must hide. Adelio's confidence over the matter is unfamiliar to her.

"How can you be so sure nobody will find out the truth?"

Maud swears she sees a grim expression fall over his face, even if its just for a moment. As if a grey shadow had fallen over him. He averts his gaze.

"I just know. Trust me"

How easy it is to lie about an heir.

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